Bowling game



April 8', 1924. 1,489,700

K. G. DIETERICH BOWLING GAME Filed Dec. 15. 1922 mam zrflff rlta "m INVENTOR YATTORNEY a R a v H f 5 4, m 1 Tai w E T 1; in \T j w 2 A LE m /il: 1 i

Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

iED sraras KARL o. DIETERICH, on NEW roan, N. Y.

BOWLING GAME.

Application filed December 15, 1922. Serial No. 607,155.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, KARL G. DIETERIGH, a citizen of Germany, and resident of the city of New York, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bowling Games, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a bowling game, the improvementbeing adapted for use in connection with miniature 'or parlor bowling tables and full-sized bowling alleys just as well.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a bowling game wherein the pins are attached to an overhead support and, when struck, release a visible signal, inthe form of a hammer, cooperating with a bell.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple mechanism for resetting the signals, said setting means being adjustable.

A further object of the invention is to devise an apparatus of the character de scribed which is capable of manufacture on a commercial scale, or in other words one which is not so difficult to produce as to be beyond the reasonable cost of such a device.

lVith these and other objects in view, which will more fully appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the.

same consists in the combination, arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter described, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be made in the 'size' and proportion of the several parts and details of construction within the scope of the ap-' pended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

One of the many possible embodiments of the invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: i 7

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a bowling apparatus constructed in accordancewit the present invention; Fig.ZYis a side"el'e'- vation thereof, partly in section and Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the bowling Zapparams i H The improved apparatus comprises an oblong game board 10, provided with upturned longitudinal flanges 11 and with an upturned transverse flange 12 at its rear. Between the flanges it is disposed the play ing bed of'the alley, terminating adjacent the fiange'12'in a pit 13, which slants toward a return gutter 14, leading to the front of thegame-boa-rd, that is to say to the players stand. This game board may be mounted upon legs, or may be placed upon a table of suitable height. In front of the pit'13 are mounted upon the game board two standards 15, one on each side thereof, said standards being connected at their upper ends by a transverse board 16, to which is attached,'in any suitable manner, a plurality of rearwardly extending lugs 17. To each of these lugs is pivoted, by a horizontal pin 18, a lever 19, the upper end of which projects above the lug, while its lowe'rend carries fixedly attached thereto a rigid spherical member 29, which is" disposed a suitable distance above' tlie playing bed of the alley. ".The spherical members are attached to their respective levers 19, for instance, by pegs 21, extending through the said spherical members and through any one of arow of perforations 21 in the levers 19. By means of this arrangement the spherical members may be conveniently replaced by others of either larger or smaller size, according to the requirements. Below the transverse board 16 is attached to the standards 15 a transverse rail23, against which the levers 19 abut, they being held in abutting positions by springs 24'. 'VVhen the levers abut against the said rail, they extend vertically, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

Above the pit there are attached to the game. board two standards 25, one on each side thereof, connected at their upper ends by a rail 26, to' which are secured lugs 27. To eachlug is pivoted, by a horizontal pin 28, a bar 29, each bar carrying a small flag 30 at one of its ends, while .its other end is adapted to rest on one of the levers 19. That end of 'each' bar which isadapted to rest on a lever 19 is provided with a hamnier headBI, for co-operation with a 'bell 32011-2; support3'3, the. latter'being mounted on the game board above the pit 13 in rear of the standards 25. Below each lug 27 is fixed -'to"'the' rail26i a leaf-spring'34, for cooperation with the respective bar 29. To the standards '25; is furthermore pivoted a U-shaped transverselyfeitendin'g "setting bar 35', provided with'anar'm 36, that carries a m 37, the latter extending into a longitudinal slot 88 in a lever 39. This lever is fulcrumed at its lower end, by a pin 40, to the gameboard and connected by a flexible means 41 with a lever 42, which is pivoted at 13 to the forward end of the game board. The lever 39 is provided with a row of holes at and the lever 42 with arow of holes 45, the flexible connection 11 being adapted to be engaged with any one of the holes 15 and any one of the holes 4 1, so as to permit of an adjustment of the stroke of the lever 4:2, for a purpose hereinafter to be described.

The operation of this device is as follows: The levers 19 and spherical members 20 thereon constitute the bowling pins, the game being played with a ball 16, having a diameter that is only slightly larger than the distance between anindividual spherical member 20 and the upper face of the playing bed of the alley. The bars 29 are all brought to rest on the levers 19 when the game is started, the elements being then in the positionsshown in :Fig. 1 of the drawings. The player causes the ball to roll, from the players stand, on the playing bed of the alley, aiming at any one of the spherical members 20. If one of these members is hit, the respective lever 19 is caused to swing on its pivot'pin 18, the upper end of the said lever swinging toward the transverse rail 16 and thereby releasing the bar 29 resting thereonf The end of the bar, which cO-operates with the lever 19, being weighted by the hammer head 31, the said bar swings around its pivot pin 28 from its substantially horizontal position into verti cal position, whereby the flag thereon is brought to view, the hammer head at the same time striking the bell 32, thus giving an audible signal. The springs 34, co-opererating with the levers 29, serve to deaden the shock. In order to reset the bars 29, the lever 42 is shifted in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, whereby the U-shaped bar 35 moves corre spondingly, restoring the bars29 to substan tially horizontal position and bringing their hammer head ends into engagement with the levers 19. The springs 24 serve to return the levers 19 to vertical positions, after the respective spherical members 20 have been hit by the playing ball 46.

It is obvious that, while hereinthe'bowling alley has been described as a toy, the same may be of any suitable size and built as actual-size bowling alleys are constructed.

The purpose of making the stroke of the lever 4-2 adjustable is to adapt the said lever to check-controlled apparatuses.

What I claim is i 1. A bowling-game comprising an alley hammers with their respective pins bed, a support rising therefrom in front of the pit of said alley bed, a plurality of pins pivoted to said support so as to swing parallel to the longitudinal axis of said alley bed, said pins extending toward said bed with their lower ends in the same plane at; a substantial distance from said bed and their upper ends projecting above their respective pivots, a bell disposed above said bed at the pit portion thereof, a second support rising from said bed between said bell and said .[irst-mentioned support, and a plurality of bell hammers pivoted to said second-mentioned support for co-operation with said bell, the upper end of each pin supporting a bell hammer, whereby when a pin is struck by a manually operated ball the respective bell hammer is released, thereby striking said bell.

2. In a bowling-gan'ie according to claim 1, each bell hammer carrying a flag at the end opposite to that which rests on the respective pin, said flags being exposed to view simultaneously with the sounding of the bell by said hammers.

3. In a bowling-game according to claim 1, the lower end of each pin being spherical.

1. A bowling-game according to claim 1, comprising springs co-operating with said pins for normally maintaining the same in vertical positions.

5. A bowling-game according to claim 1, comprising means fo-rre-engaging said bell hammers with their respective pins after the bell has been sounded thereby.

6. A bowling-game accz'irding to comprising means for re-engaging claim 1, said bell after the bellhas been sounded thereby, said re-engaging means being disposed adjacent the pivotsof said bell han'imeis and operable from the players stand.

7. In a bowling-game according to claim 1, the lower ends of said pins being in the form of spherical bodies shiftably mounted on the pivoted portions thereof.

- 8. In a-bowling-game according to claim 1, the lower ,ends of said pins being in the form of spherical bodies adjustably mounted on the pivoted portions thereof.

9. A bowlinggame according to claim 1, comprising means for re-rng: ging said bell hammers with their res; ect. e pins after having sounded the bell and including a lever adjacent the player s stand, the stroke of said lever being adjustable.

1 Signed at New York, in the county-of New York, and State of New York, this 11th day of December, A. D. 1992.

KARL s. nrern nron.

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